But these facts and her uttering the line, “I just want to be a legend. I want to create a legacy and that’s what I will do” does not mean she must be hated.

Indeed, the pressure piled on Katie Wassiel is such that if it can be cranked up Our Katie can be the show’s underdog and thus become a firm favourite with the UK voting public. Bullying is the X Factor buzzword and, perversely, if Katie can be a victim, she can survive.

Already Joe McElderry, Daryl Johnson and Alex Reid have come out in support of Katie. They care. And they want you to know it.

But can Katie be made to look more hateful? Here’s Sharon Hendry in the Sun. This is the “dark side of Katie”, the “fame junkie”.

Katie, we learn, has a “supreme self-belief that belies her age – and ability.”

In short, Katie is ambitious and confident. And the tabloids hate ambitious young British women. Hendry wonders:

So what has instilled such incredible self-confidence in someone aged just 24? And why is Waissel so desperate to be worshipped?

Dunno, Sharon. Maybe she wants to do well and has self-belief? And as for her being worshipped, let’s not underplay it, Sharon. Let’s not build up Katie into an even bigger wannabe than she already is and make her look like a cross between Violet Elizabeth Bott, Anthea Turner and Cherie Blair.

Says Sharon:

At first glance there is nothing in her apparently stable, middle-class upbringing that lends itself to such intense self belief

Middle -class and stable?! Where’s the story in that, eh? Unless, you look at, say, Madonna or Lady Gaga who both had good homes. And this is all it is – a glance. Because Katie’s family will not speak with Sharon Hendry. Or as the investigate reporter who offers readers “a glance” at the facts, puts it:

Would this be the same Diana Waissel who told a journalist at Heat magazine:

“She (Katie) may come across as annoying, but she just wants to stand out. She’s learning to handle the criticism. It would be difficult for anyone to take, but the more she receives, the more she’s having to get used to it.”

The same Diana Waissel who writes into the media, in this case the Harrow Observer, to offer her views on a Starbucks in the area:

diana waissel said:
we think that starbucks has improved the passing trade to the high street and brought the community together its better than having another empty shop as there are many closing down

The same Diana Waissel who tells one and all:

“I don’t want that to happen to Katie. She is a team player and a lovely girl. She has a very supportive family. We don’t like all these bullying tactics.”

How rude of Diana Waissel not to want to talk to Henry, a woman adapting an old story who calls her daughter names in print. Shame on her.

Still, one that brighter note, lots more of it and Katie will be the nation’s favourite…

i don’t need the sun to tell me how to think, i’ve grown an intense disliking for this contestant based on her own actions thanks. it’s not bullying to express your opinion on someone who has put themselves up on stage for all to see. she knew the risks of being disliked yet still chose to attempt to get into the limelight again. hope she goes this week.

dairy

age has nothing to do with self-belief – my nephew (who is 4), proclaimed with utter conviction that the mess left on the road by a herd of cows was not “poo”, as hastily described by his parents – he loudly corrected them, saying “no, you’re wrong – it’s shit!”
Katie Waissel just seems to have the drive and confidence to put herself in the firing line – whether she can take the “shit” that will now be thrown at her remains to be seen, but it will have nothing to do with her age whether she succeeds or not!